Iran’s Missile Barrage Devastates Israel: Hospitals, Homes Hit in Deadly Strikes

Central Israel Under Fire: Iranian Missiles Strike Hospitals and Homes

In a harrowing dawn assault on Thursday, Iranian ballistic missiles rained down on Israel, targeting cities like Be’er Sheva, Tel Aviv, and Rishon LeZion. A missile slammed into Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, wounding six people and shattering the pediatric ward. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, inspecting the wreckage, condemned the attack: "They aim for our children while we strike their missile sites with precision."

The barrage left countless families displaced and clinging to survival. Ariel Levin-Waldman’s story captures the terror. At 5 a.m., missile alerts drove him, his wife Tali, their toddler Renana, and newborn Ayala into a shelter at his in-laws’ home in Rishon LeZion. Moments later, a missile obliterated the building, killing two and trapping the family in choking dust. Levin-Waldman lifted a fallen bookcase off his bleeding mother-in-law, carving an escape route for his family. "We were suffocating, afraid we’d be buried alive," he said. Firefighters pulled them from the rubble, but in the chaos, Levin-Waldman briefly lost sight of his infant daughter, a heart-wrenching 30-minute search ensuing.

Indiscriminate Destruction

The missiles spared no one—Jew or Arab, left or right. In Tamra, a predominantly Arab town, four women perished when a missile demolished their home. In Tel Aviv, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s granddaughter narrowly escaped disaster when glass from a missile blast covered her crib. "This is a regime bent on our destruction," Lapid said, urging action against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In Petah Tikva, a missile carrying nearly a ton of explosives killed four, leaving coalition lawmaker Hanoch Mildwisky’s home cracked and windows shattered.

Jamal Waraki, a Muslim volunteer with ZAKA, returned from a rescue mission to find his own Rehovot home destroyed. His family, safely in Eilat, left him sleeping in his car while awaiting new housing. Reality TV star Lihi Griner, huddled with her family in a Petah Tikva safe room, emerged to find her apartment’s windows blown out and walls fractured. "We’re alive, and that’s enough for now," she said, relocated to a hotel.

A Glimmer of Hope

Amid the devastation, a small miracle: Levin-Waldman’s dog, Zvika, was found alive four days after the attack, a rare moment of joy in a nation reeling from 24 deaths and over 800 injuries since the conflict escalated on June 13. As Israel grapples with this unrelenting assault, the resolve to neutralize Iran’s missile and nuclear threats grows stronger, a fight for survival etched in every shattered window and scarred shelter.